NCJ Number
123454
Date Published
1956
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Data on the number of juvenile delinquency cases cover 1954, changes in delinquency cases for 1953-54, and trends in delinquency cases for 1940-54; similar data are provided for dependency-and-neglect cases.
Abstract
The cases reported include those alleged as well as adjudged. A total of 230,120 delinquency cases disposed of during 1954 were reported by 937 courts located in 34 States. Boys cases outnumbered girls cases approximately 5 to 1. Rates of delinquency were higher in urban areas than in less populated areas. The number of delinquency cases increased by 8 percent between 1953 and 1954, based on data from 631 courts that reported on delinquency cases for both years. The general trend in delinquency cases for 1940-54 was upward during World War II to a peak in 1945 and downward in the 3 years after the war. Just over 59,000 cases handled by the 937 courts in 1954 were dependency-and-neglect cases (19 percent). The number of such cases increased only 1 percent between 1953 and 1954. Five percent of the courts' cases were "special proceedings," including adoption, commitment of mentally defective children, material witnesses, application for consent to marry or enlist in the armed forces, determination of custody, and permission to hospitals for surgery on a child. The paper also discusses the limitations of juvenile court statistics and ways to improve the scope and accuracy of such statistics. 6 tables, 1 figure.